While hoops has been mostly dormant here on the homefront, in Venezuela and Slovenia, some of the best players in the world have been active in the FIBA Americas and FIBA Europe tournaments, which will help set the field for next summer’s FIBA World Cup in Barcelona. While Team USA’s summer activity was limited to July’s minicamp, many of the top national teams have been in full swing—and from those tournaments, there is much to be learned:

• The Canadians let us down. There are very high hopes for the future of the Canadian men’s team, which is likely to feature this year’s No. 1 pick, Anthony Bennett, and next year’s presumptive No. 1 pick, Andrew Wiggins, going forward. But neither of those players were on this year’s roster, which was headlined by Cory Joseph of the Spurs, Andrew Nicholson of the Magic, Tristan Thompson of the Cavaliers and Joel Anthony of the Heat. That wasn’t enough to escape a tough field at the FIBA Americas tournament (Mexico, Puerto Rico, Argentina and Dominican Republic qualified), which means the dream of seeing Wiggins and Bennett suiting up as teammates in next year’s World Cup in Spain has been dashed.

“Everyone says we have four NBA guys,” coach Jay Triano told reporters. “But our three best players are 22, 22 and 23 and are going up against men. Our inexperience was the biggest detriment to our group. This shows how close we are. This was a valuable learning experience for a young team like ours. That’s why we’re here. To get the experience so when we’re that age, we can compete that much better.”

Here’s hoping our neighbors to the North rally for the 2016 Olympics.

• The Nets have a pleasant problem. Brooklyn has made a big bet on chasing a championship this season with the acquisitions of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Andrei Kirilenko. But bringing in those players has pushed to the fringes two of the better players on the European circuit at this time—forward Mirza Teletovic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and guard Bojan Bogdanovic of Croatia. Teletovic played just 53 games last year for the Nets, while Bogdanovic has not been able to agree to a contract with the team, because Brooklyn keeps using its midlevel exception on other players.

But both players have proven their worth in Eurobasket. Teletovic, who is 28 years old, carries a heavy load for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and his shooting percentage—38.6 from the field—reflects that. But he is second in the tournament with 21.0 points per game, and averages 7.8 rebounds. Bogdanovic, who is 24 and had hoped to sign this summer, is ninth in scoring (16.7 points) in the European tournament.

Both players are in high demand around the league. But, as one general manager told SN, “The Nets don’t seem to have any interest in getting rid of either guy. Plenty of teams have asked, but they are not moving them, not right now.”

• The Hawks are stacked in the frontcourt. Gustavo Ayon was a pleasant surprise as a 26-year-old rookie for New Orleans two years ago, and he proved to be a useful big man—though he was often lost in the shuffle—last year with the Magic and Bucks. Now he is with Atlanta, and he figures to get a legitimate shot at playing time behind center Al Horford.

After winning the MVP of the FIBA Americas tournament, helping Mexico to its first tournament title in 35 years with 17.2 points and 8.4 rebounds in 10 games, Ayon looks poised for a productive year. The Hawks also added versatile veteran big man Pero Antic of the FYR of Macedonia. Despite a disappointing overall team performance, Antic had 13.8 points and 8.8 rebounds in the Eurobasket tournament. Atlanta also signed Elton Brand and Paul Millsap this offseason.

“That is one of the strengths of our roster,” general manager Danny Ferry said. “We have flexibility in how we use all of our bigs this year, with Elton who plays 5/4, Pero Antic can play 5, Ayon can play 5, and you have Millsap and Mike Scott. Our core of bigs is a strength of our team. Al is still the key player in that group, but we feel that we have a lot of depth and can use different lineups there.”

• Keep an eye on the Warriors’ new guy. Golden State liked 6-4 combo guard Nemanja Nedovic enough to move into the first round in order to select him. Nedovic has slumped in his last three outings, but got off to a hot start by scoring 36 points in the first three games. He is only 21 years old, but he has already carved a niche for himself on the Serbian roster—he averages 26.3 minutes per game, third on the team behind veterans Nenad Krstic and Stefan Markovic. His blend of size and athleticism could make him an ideal bench guy for Golden State.

“Hopefully he is a smart point guard,” Warriors general manager Bob Myers said. “We like his size, we like his athleticism. He gives us a point guard who can get to the rim, kind of a contrast to Steph Curry’s game. We know he needs to develop—he will probably spend some time in the D-League. But, at the same time, if he plays well enough, there is a spot there for him. I am looking forward to having him work with our coaches and expose him to the NBA style of play, where I think his game will be highlighted. There is a lot positive going for him.”